Canadiens News

Canadiens release 2017-18 season schedule

Habs will start the season with three games on the road

MONTREAL - Get ready to mark up your calendars: the Canadiens' schedule for 2017-18 is now out!

Claude Julien's troops will start the 2017-18 campaign with a short, three-game road trip, with the Habs facing the Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers on October 5, 7 and 8, respectively.

As announced on Wednesday, the first home game of the season will be on Tuesday, October 10, with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks visiting the Bell Centre.

The Canadiens' trip to California takes place early in the season, with stops set in San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim from October 17-20.

The Vegas Golden Knights will make their first-ever visit to Montreal on Tuesday, November 7.

As per usual, the Habs will be far away from the Bell Centre at the end of December, with a trip to Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton right before Christmas, and another one to Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida at holiday time, on December 27, 28 and 30, respectively.

The Canadiens will play their first game in Las Vegas on Saturday, February 17. It will be the third stop on a four-game road trip that also takes them to Colorado, Arizona and Philadelphia.

The longest road trip of the season takes place in March, with six games in the eastern United States: New York (Islanders), Boston, New Jersey, Florida, Tampa Bay and Columbus.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins play only once in Montreal -- on Thursday, March 15. The Habs will visit Sidney Crosby and co. in Steel City twice: on Wednesday, March 21 and Saturday, March 31.

The archrival Toronto Maple Leafs will be at the Bell Centre twice, on Saturday, October 14 and Saturday, November 18.

Montreal wraps up its season with two away games in Detroit and Toronto, on April 5 and 7.

Last year, the team got off to an excellent start with 10 wins to start the season. It was the Canadiens' best record ever through the first 10 games of the season (9-0-1).